Award-winning journalist Bill Moyers to host discussion on Arizona jails

Award-winning journalist Bill Moyers is coming to Arizona PBS for a special screening of his new documentary “Rikers: An American Jail” and an in-depth discussion on the state of Arizona’s jails on Wednesday, April 19.

Moyers, a broadcast journalist for more than four decades and the 1995 recipient of the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, will take part in a discussion with local policy experts and law enforcement on the state of Arizona’s jails after the screening of his new documentary.

Who:

• Paul Charlton, former U.S. Attorney for the district of Arizona; partner, Steptoe and Johnson LLP
• Scott Decker, foundation professor, ASU School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Andrew LeFevre, executive director, Arizona Criminal Justice Commission
• Tracy Haggard, deputy chief, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
• Donna Leone Hamm, retired judge; director, Middle Ground Prison Reform
• Anna Huberman, justice of the peace, Maricopa County
• Jonathon (Levi) Trethewey, executive director, ATLaS Justice Center

What: “Rikers: An American Jail” screening and Arizona jail panel discussion

When: Wednesday, April 19: screening starts at 6 p.m.; discussion starts at 7 p.m.

Where: Arizona PBS/Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, 555 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004

About “Rikers: An American Jail”

“Rikers: An American Jail” takes a deep look at the pervasive culture of violence at New York City’s largest and most notorious jail. The documentary brings you face to face with inmates who have endured incarceration at Rikers Island — from the shock of entry, to the extortion and control exercised by other inmates, the oppressive interaction with the corrections officers, the beatings and stabbings, the torture of solitary confinement, and the many challenges of returning to the outside world.

“The stories of Rikers Island Jail are far too common in jails across America, where similar violence, abuse and corruption makes local headlines and the same issues that stand in the way of swift and appropriate justice turn jails into warehouses that detain the guilty and the innocent without distinction,” Moyers said.

Note: The documentary may contain elements that are not suitable for some audiences. The documentary will premiere on PBS stations across the country in May and on Arizona PBS on Tuesday, May 2, at 8 p.m.